Online and offline data which has been harvested using the Opt-in methods as previously explained in my The Three Types of Opt-in article can be used to compile your initial customer and prospect email marketing database. Think of it as the bread and butter of your online marketing success.

I like to refer to this information as your ‘Data Asset’.

Unfortunately the responsible management of data is one of the most mistreated fundamentals of digital marketing and is often over looked due to the ongoing interests in the percentage of profits and short term results from current marketing campaigns and activities.

Although ‘data hygiene’ is a commonly used term in marketing it is often interpreted as simply separating unsubscribed and subscribed or active versus non active data for future broadcasts and communications. This is an exceedingly conceited and short sighted approach towards what could be the make or break sales tool for most organisations; corporate or SME’s.

Marketers at every level should understand the importance of maintaining an accurate and clean database as this is fundamental for distributing effective, relevant and tailored communications to their existing customers and prospects. The Data Protection Act requires you to regularly update the personal information of customers or prospects as well as to only hold customer data for as long as you may need it. I find it rather unfortunate how often we receive incorrectly addressed or targeted communications via post, text or email. Many users can offer an example of their experiences with this and when a personalised email or subject line is incorrect you can expect that the recipient will unsubscribe, send to junk or simply hit the all powerful SPAM button. Over time this can seriously damage your inbox delivery and essentially cannibalise your revenues.

There are three main issues that arise from neglecting your data asset:

Personalisation errors are exceedingly common as personalisation is often used to dynamically insert salutation, first name or key interests into a subject line or header for recipients of emails. This will affect different industry sectors in different ways. If a user receives an incorrectly personalised email for their utility bills they may get in touch with their provider and get this corrected. Whereas if a user receives an incorrectly personalised email from a retail brand they may simply ignore it, unsubscribe from future communications or worst case scenario they will simply hit the SPAM button.

The harsh truth is this; the moment the user realises that they have been communicated with using an incorrect demographic or incorrect personalisation like a false first name, the relationship is hurt and the integrity of your brand or organisation with this recipient is damaged.

Duplicated mailings are caused by inconsistent cleansing and the careless amalgamation of online and offline data. This can be overcome by regular data querying and using a system which appends new data to existing data via unique references.

Wrong addressed communications cause confusion, mistrust and ultimately instant loss of future opportunities to make a sale. Always keep in mind that a wrongly addressed email is unsolicited email, even though this is in error an opt-in to receive mailings from your organisation or brand was not previously consented to. Inaccurate data not only wastes your budget, but it can negatively affect your business’ image.

With these three issues in mind the use of advanced data tagging and sorting software can greatly improve efficiency, ensure legal compliance and essentially improve your campaigns overall affectivity as you will still incur a cost of delivering your messages when you broadcast to inaccurate data. Another commonly used method is the use of API feeds and loader scripts to integrate with other systems. This is advised if you have frequent changes recorded in your database.

Effective client relationship management relies heavily on the principals and best practices around maintaining a high-quality data asset so be sure to clean, sort and filter your data regularly.

For more advice on your data responsibilities and obligations please visit the ICO.gov.uk website where you can download guides relating to your sector of business:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations.aspx